Hiking

Looking down from the Giant Moreno Valley “M” on Box Springs Mountain

This past Sunday, my wife and I hiked up to the giant Moreno Valley “M” on Box Springs Mountain that overlooks Moreno Valley. This was her first trip all the way up to the “M”.

Here is a recap of our hike in pictures:

We started at Box Springs Mountain Park near Hidden Springs / Pigeon Pass in Moreno Valley…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

The start of the trail we took…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

This flower (and the insects – crane flies?) greeted us near the start of the trail…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Looking down at the parking lot, which kept getting smaller and smaller…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

The “M” trail ahead…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

The trail behind us so far…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Except for lizards of various colors, we didn’t see much wildlife…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Looking back at the trail…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

A random flower on the way…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Looking up at the toughest part of the trail we followed. Note the faint outline of a trail going off to the left in the center of the picture. That trail takes you around this peak instead of up it. We missed that turn and kept climbing up…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Looking back down…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Trying to see the parking lot…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Still climbing up…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

A look back down…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Another random lizard…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

The moment we realized that we were climbing to the top of Box Springs Mountain instead of just to the “M”…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

My favorite lizard of the day…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Looking down at the “M” and the “M” trail…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

The view from above the “M”. Not the clearest day, but still a nice view…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

A tiny lizard hanging out near the “M”…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

A few weeds and wildflowers sticking out of the cracks of the “M”…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Standing on the “M”…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

The trail down from the bottom of the “M” (the trail we intended to climb up but missed)…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

The “M” is huge, and we had to hike down a bit to get the entire “M” in the picture…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

There seem to be a few different trails that will take you up the initial peak or around it. On our way down we went around it (the trail I think we took the first time I hiked up to the “M” with our kids). If you hike to the “M”, you should study the routes before you go or go with someone who knows the way. The overgrowth is probably why we initially missed this trail…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Looking back up at the decision point to go up the initial peak or around it. This is the turnoff we missed on our way up…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

The “M” from the 60 freeway…

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

Here are the routes we took according to my Garmin. The top line shows our route up, and the bottom line shows our route down. Per my Garmin, both routes were about 1.4 miles and 1,100-1,200 feet of elevation. We took two big bottles of water each, and wore trail shoes. It took us about 1.5 hours to climb, and about 1 hour to descend. We probably would have gone a little faster (not much) but we were taking pictures and had run a 5K the day before. We hiked on Sunday and I’m still sore on Tuesday morning.

Box Springs Mountain - Moreno Valley "M" Hike

For more info… rivcoparks.org

Looking for more hiking spots in and around the Inland Empire? Check out our list of Places to Hike in Riverside and Beyond.

2 thoughts on “Looking down from the Giant Moreno Valley “M” on Box Springs Mountain

  • Agnar Aae

    From Norway. Was i Moreno Vally for 14 days in february last year visiting the Air base We was of course up on the mountain and on the big M. Pretty exotic for a guy from cold Norway. Best regards Agnar Aae.

    Reply
    • Thanks for checking in from Norway. Glad you were able to make it up to the “M”. I’m at least 50% Norwegian, and would love to visit Norway someday.

      Reply

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